Erin Machan

Written By Thomas Claesen
 
 

Erin Machan is one of the most powerful women I know. She plays life full out in all areas of her life. Life shows up and she’s there to match it. She’s a competitive Cross Country CYCLIST doing crazy things like 24 hour races on her bike, she’s co-founder of the nonprofit Project Bike Love delivering bikes to women and girls around the world, she’s a beast at pushing her life to it’s max and we haven’t even gotten to her day job yet!, One this episode we get into the details of what it means to play full out and show up and be brave and look back and say fuck yeah.

Erin was born in Santa Barbara, CA and then moved around the world and the US with her family following her fathers career as a University Professor. First they moved to Lugano, Switzerland when she was 4 or 5 years old, then to Auburn, Alamaba. When she was 11 her parents split and she started spending the school year with her mom in Nebraska and summers in Auburn with her dad. Then she followed her dad to California when he moved in 1999.

Her father, an immigrant from Hungary, earned his PhD in Philosophy at the University of California Santa Barbara. Throughout his career as a professor he taught philosophy and business ethics. Additionally he was an active libertarian, a freedom fighter, an author, a journalist and the founder of Reason, a philosophy magaine. Growing up, Erin’s family dinner conversations consisted of debates about free will vs determinism. Expectations were high and her father’s pride of the freedom given to being American strong.

The free will and freedom her father valued so much took Erin some time to appreciate and chase in her own live. She was in cruise control going to community college in California when her best friend unexpectedly committed suicide. The shock and sadness and reality of the shortness of life rocked Erin and became the catalyst for the first major change in her life. Growing up Erin loved horses and was a competitive equestrian rider. She decided to chase her dream to keep riding and applied to Auburn University. She earned an equestrian scholarship to the University of Auburn and was enrolled in the College of Agriculture as a pre-vet major. It was time to get serious. Shift.

It didn’t take long for the self-applied doubt of being able to compete athletically and academically at Auburn to wear Erin down. First she quit the team. Then she left Auburn. Maybe a smaller school would be a better fit, so she transferred to the University of Motevallo in northern Alabama. Still tricky and not going easy. Then she transferred to Chapman University in California.

It was while she was back in California as a poor college student that the next big shift happened in her life. She had to give up her horse. She couldn’t afford it anymore. It was heartbreaking. Erin needed an activity that was cheaper, but still outdoors and still athletic. Not a fan of running a friend suggested cross country cycling. She got her gear, hear there was a casual Wednesday night meet-up/race and entered. She won her first race. Her first race Ever. Shift.

At the same time, she started dating a guy that included two engagements, ups and downs across 7 years It as after she ended their engagement the second, and last time, and spent a week in bed watching the full series of Breaking Bad that she reached out her friend Arden. She knew she needed to break her relationship habits. She knew there was stuff to process and deal with not just from the relationship, but going back to her college days and her friends suicide. Ardens suggested she try out Landmark. Her other friend Danielle said she’d do it with her. She came out of the three day course a new woman. Shift.

So now free of bad relationships and being clear on not just how powerful she was, but how capable she was to create a life of her choosing, big things started to shift for Erin. She and her friend Belen decided to share their love of bikes with women and girls in need around the world to provide them self, reliable and independent transportation. From that their non-profit, Project Bike Love was born. She met her best friend, Matt Weber, who she dated briefly and whom changed her life forever. Really hard things happened, too - her father passed away & she was laid off, and Erin dealt with them powerful and proudly.

Taking on big, hard and scary things has become Erin’s MO. First she added 100 mile endurance races to her competitive circuit. Then 24 hour races. Now Erin is known for being the one who is wiling to go there, to dig deep, to live boldly, and see just how much of life she can soak up and sweat out. And it’s not just on the track. It’s when she packs up and moves for a new dream job to a city she does’t know anyone. It’s when she learns the sad news that Matt tragically died while on a dream vacation. It’s when life is hard, really hard and Erin knows she has the reserve deep within herself and support from her tightknit circle of friends to push through and pull herself up out of the current valley life has presented. All the while Erin is thankful. Thankful to be shown her strength. Thankful to have relationships and connections that impact her soul. Thankful that she’s being given the full human experience.

Today, Erin lives in Colorado working as the Market Developer for Fox Racing. She rides her bike every day and travels the US for as many competitions as possible. She and Belen continue to grow Project Bike Love every year, giving more and more bikes to women & girls in need around the world.


To follow, support, and connect with Erin & Project Bike Love you can:

Thomas Claesen

Owner & designer at Clawsun. Originally from Belgium, but now located in Nashville, TN. Drumline instructor in my free time.

https://clawsundesign.com
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